The 2020-21 girls volleyball state championships will be held at NORCO Volleyball Facility in Loveland.
All five classifications will play on May 10-11, beginning the eight-team tournaments with quarterfinals on May 10. Both semifinals and finals will be held on May 11.
This location allows for the continuation of the traditional state tournament format of having all classifications competing at a single location.
“We are really excited to partner with NORCO Volleyball because even during this COVID year, we are still able to showcase all five classifications at the same time for the finals,” said CHSAA assistant commissioner Bethany Brookens, who oversees volleyball. “We are thrilled that we were able to find a facility where all classifications can be showcased and celebrated together and equally, like in a normal year.
“We find great value in having all classifications showcased equally and this allows us to do that.”
The NORCO Volleyball facility is 30,000 square feet in size and has 10 courts.
“NORCO Volleyball and the Centerra community in Loveland are honored and excited to be hosting this year’s CHSAA state volleyball finals,” NORCO juniors club director Cathy Mahaffey said. “Our new world class 10-court facility was intentionally designed to accommodate the best and most competitive volleyball teams and players from across Colorado and the United States.”
Like all indoor sports, spectators will be limited. More information will be forthcoming as the data approaches.
In its last two state championship games, the Cherry Creek field hockey team lost them both a combined two goals. It’s been an emotional hunt for the Bruins as they haven’t claimed a championship in the sport since 2007.
They’re hoping that streak ends this year.
Boasting two Division I players and a senior class of 10 players, the CHSAANow.com No. 2 Bruins are expecting nothing less than another shot to win state gold. And in an odd way, the moving of field hockey to Season C has given them a few unforeseen benefits.
“One huge advantage I think we have, is that our girls have had their eyes on this championship since the last time we were able to play,” coach Clare Detrick-Yee said. “That means that they got an extension of continued months of training to make sure their fitness ready so when we came into tryouts for this accelerated season, my entire varsity team is by far the fittest they’ve ever been. Everyone’s looking sharp.”
That has certainly been the case on the field. They won their first four games by a combined score of 22-1. Their first test came in a March 31 showdown with No. 4 Regis Jesuit, a game they won 5-2.
“They’ve been the team to knock us out for the past few years,” Detrick-Yee said.
(Cindy Betancourt/eStudioWest.com)
Heading into that contest, senior Tallulah Fuhs led the team – and the state – with seven goals. Those are the kind of numbers that will get someone to the Division I level. Fuhs will play collegiately at Bucknell while teammate Ella Pratt heads off to the University of New Hampshire.
But they have unfinished business to take care of first and there are plenty of girls that have been with the program long enough to make deep playoff runs but are still hungry to get that last win or two to finish off a season while also keeping the future of the program in mind.
“We have 10 seniors who are bringing a lot of leadership and owning their positions,” Detrick-Yee said. “They’re already teaching the younger players about the quality of field hockey that we play at Cherry Creek.”
A big step toward a state title has to do with the style of play for the Bruins. They missed out on the state championship game with a 1-0 loss to Regis in the semifinals last year and also suffered a 2-1 overtime loss to Regis in the state championship game in 2018.
This year, they have a style of play that feels conducive to getting over those one-goal loss demons and reaching a level they haven’t seen in nearly 14 years.
“We have a really attacking center game this year, which hasn’t been the case the last two years” Detrick-Yee said. “It’s been amazing. We’re getting some quality shots off and our circle play is really strong, as well as our corners.”
The results are showing on the field now and that has often been the case for the Bruins. Now they need to focus on carrying that momentum into the postseason and claiming a title they have badly wanted for the last 14 years.
The 2021 all-state girls swimming teams are presented by CHSAANow.com, ColoradoPreps.com and MaxPreps.
These teams were created based upon results at the state meet. The swimmers and divers of the year, as well as the coaches of the year, were also selected based upon the state meet.
Of all the reasons that Coal Ridge boys soccer can point to when looking at early-season success, the top one might also be the most basic.
The team just has a great attitude.
Sure, winning can help. The Titans are off to a 6-0 start and have climbed up to the No. 3 spot in the Class 3A boys soccer rankings, but the feeling is more that the positive attitude has resulted in success rather than the other way around.
“I have been coaching since 2012 and I feel like this has been a season where our kids are competitors,” coach Michael Mikalakis said. “They never put their heads and they’re always looking to keep moving forward. I feel like that’s something you don’t always see.”
And it’s perhaps the best year to see it. The boys soccer season typically beings during the hot months of August and September and ends in November. Cold weather games aren’t out of the question, but the Titans have seen more adverse conditions than what they’re used to, especially to start the year.
“The first game we played was in Vail in a complete blizzard,” Mikalakis said. “The kids were thrown off because they’re used to 80 or 90-degree heat but this year is a little bit different. But they’re adapting well.”
(Photo courtesy of Fil Meraz)
In the first six games of the year, Coal Ridge has scored 28 goals on the season. Senior Jack Price and junior Eddie Salazar tie for the team lead with seven goals. That’s also tied for seventh in the state regardless of classification and fourth in all of 3A.
A part of that can very much be attributed to Price and a few of his teammates coming off a basketball season in which in the Titans advanced to the Sweet 16.
“I had that basketball season (ahead of time) where normally it would be me sitting on my couch, not doing anything,” Price said. “Us three basketball players came in ready to go and pumped up for the season.”
That playoff run also provided a spark not normally there at the beginning of the fall. Having just been through a postseason atmosphere and also seeing their early success, Price feels like Titans can give themselves a mental edge simply from being on the hardwood and beating Buena Vista before falling to Manitou Springs.
“It can propel us a ton because we get that competitive spirit and we don’t back down to any opponent,” Price said. “That Manitou Springs game, it didn’t end up the way that we wanted to but we were fired up and we competed.”
Now they’re looking at utilizing their skillsets on the soccer field to the best of their advantage. Scoring more than four goals per game, the Titans are able to use their offensive attack to let their defense play more freely.
“It’s a team effort,” Salazar said. “We get those opportunities and with the defense that we have, it’s pretty incredible. It all starts with them.”
Coal Ridge has surrendered just six goals all season, half of which came in a 4-3 win over Roaring Fork on March 25.
The Titans hope to continue that trend through the remaining games on their schedule, but they’ve figured out that everything rides on their competitive spirit and overall positive attitude.
“We need to be competitors,” Mikalakis said. “That’s our mantra this year. We need to compete every single game. We have the talent and we have the system. If we can keep our mentality the way that it has been going, we can see some really big success.”
